Letter from Africa: Heroes and villains of Nigeria's parliament siege

In our series of letters from Africa, Nigerian writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani says scenes reassembling a coup in her country have left many scratching their heads.
Nigerians still can't say for sure why armed, masked men held our country's parliament under siege last week. But the alarming incident had a most joyous ending.
They blocked all entrances to the building, denying lawmakers, civil servants and journalists access.
It turned out they were operatives of the state's spy agency, the Department of State Security (DSS), headed by Lawal Daura.
The other man at the centre of... read more

Related news

In our series of letters from African writers, journalist Sola Odunfa reflects on a controversial proposal to ban the children of government officials and top civil servants from completing their education abroad.
Back in the 1980s, my daughter won a...

In our series of letters from African writers, Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene says the government should ban funerals for people who fail to pay taxes.
There is a saying, attributed to American founding father Benjamin Franklin, that there are...

In our series of letters from African journalists, media and communications trainer Joseph Warungu reflects on gender inequality in Kenyan politics.
The Kenyan parliament is a tough playground. And just like any other playground, the bigger ones tend...

ABUJA Nigeria's parliament has postponed voting on the 2016 budget from Feb. 25 because ministers cannot agree on revised public spending plans, lawmakers said on Tuesday.
President Muhammadu Buhari presented a record $30 billion budget in December...

In our series of letters from African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at the plight of medics who "saved" Nigeria from the Ebola pandemic in 2014 but who have not yet been paid.
In October 2014, Nigeria received...

In our series of letters by African journalists, novelist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani blows her vuvuzela for Nigeria's Super Falcons.
Last week, Nigeria's national women's football team, the Super Falcons, secured a place in the 10th Africa...